Phonics

Intervention, Phonics, Reading

The Truth About Sight Words: What Science Says About Making Sight Words Stick

Sight words are words that you just have to memorize because they don’t “follow the rules”, right? Actually, wrong! Many of us, including myself, have taught this for years. In fact, I was taught this as a student. However, this is just not true. The good thing is that the truth is this: sight words actually CAN be sounded out.…

continue reading

Intervention, Phonics

Tactile Letter Sound Practice: Mess Free and Fun!

Learning letter sounds, letter formation, and building words is an important skill. When done in a tactile and hands on way, students are more likely to remember the skills. It can also help them learn faster. And, of course, it’s simply more fun! We all know that many students benefit from tactile input when learning and reviewing new skills. However,…

continue reading

Intervention, Phonics, Reading

Sight Word Practice That Will Make Students Smile

Sight words are important to reading success. It’s certainly not the only focus in our reading instruction, but students who receive effective sight word instruction improve as readers and have more confidence and they read! So, let’s talk about one way to engage students in sight word instruction. I’ve shared in the past some of my favorite hands on ways…

continue reading

Intervention, Phonics, Reading

Decodables Gone Digital: Ditch the Prep for Readers Made Easy

Decodable Readers: If you thoroughly enjoy the printing, cutting, folding, stapling, prepping, storing, hunting for the one you need, and repeating all of the above when they go home with your students only to never return loop of frustration than you can just go ahead and skip this post. However, if you’re like the rest of us who loathe doing this…

continue reading